


Red Over White

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, but ESPECIALLY spoilers for part 4 of Messy Business, spoilers for all of Bluff City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 10:11:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18233480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: Agent Heard has a mission. That mission is Blake Blossom, yes, but that mission is also Hector Hu.Discovery, recovery, loyalty.





	Red Over White

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to muna for the inspiration!!
> 
> 'red over white' is a mnemonic device meaning that "a red mast light over a white mast light on a ship indicates a fishing boat at work (and that you should avoid crossing its lines)

Agent Heard has a mission. That mission is Blake Blossom, yes, but that mission is also Hector Hu.

 

Discover what happened to Blake Blossom. Recover the Blossom Tape. Discover the location of Hector Hu. Recover Hector Hu.

 

His team discovers what happened to Blake Blossom. They do not fully recover the Blossom Tape.

 

He discovers the location of Hector Hu. He does not recover Hector Hu.

 

If anything, Hector Hu recovers _him_.

  
  


When he was first inducted into The Concern, he was assigned an agent as a mentor. He didn’t meet them for the first three months of his training, which he understood to be unusual for a mentor agent. This was not told to him in words, rather it was indicated in the pauses between sentences, the blank spaces on a form where a name should be entered. The missing pieces making a whole. Heard often wondered whether the delay was not a delay at all but some kind of test. With The Concern, it was impossible to tell.

 

Agent Squire arrived back at The Concern’s facility in time to help Heard pass through the last stages of his first round of official testing.

 

“You don’t seem surprised to see me,” said Squire.

 

Heard gave what for him passed as a shrug, a tiny movement of his shoulders. “I was told you would arrive at some point.”

 

“And you always believe everything you’re told?”

 

“Seemed unlikely that I would be lied to about this point,” said Heard, “Sir.”

 

Squire inclined his head in a slight nod, and Heard felt the thrill of passing a test.

  


Their time together was not long by the standards of The Concern - despite their slow start, they were not allotted any additional time. Heard did not believe that this was a disadvantage. His time with Agent Squire served him better than the other Concern agents and their mentors running on the same testing time frame as he was. Heard would have liked to believe that this came from his own personal aptitude, but more likely it came from how often Squire took him along for work in the field.

 

“Experiencing things out there first hand, that’s the only thing that can really prepare you for what it’s like as an agent of The Concern,” said Squire.

 

Heard nodded. He wished that the bus ride to Blough City was not so bumpy, so he could take notes. It was against Concern policy to take physical notes, but Squire never seemed to mind, the corners of his eyes crinkling whenever Heard pulled out the small spiral notepad from his jacket pocket.

 

Technically, if Heard believed that his mentor agent was going against Concern policy, he was supposed to report it, but that would have prevented him from ever seeing again Squire’s crinkle-eyed smile. Besides, he always burned his notes, after.

  


Blough City was as strange as advertised. Squire showed him how to quickly form a disguise, to make himself an anonymous as the buildings of the city seemed to be. They sat in a diner together for a long stretch of the afternoon, slowly stirring cups of cold coffee and watching their fellow patrons. As the sun set, Squire led him through the city, toward an area with no night curfew.

 

“We’ll catch the late bus back,” said Squire, “We can stay here until then.”

 

The diner in this part of the city had dimmer lights, the couples in the booths sitting much closer together than their day-time counterparts. Squire seemed closer to him now, too, or perhaps it was just a trick of the dim light.

 

Heard kept his eyes on his cup of coffee, his face warmer than the mug between his palms.

  


The bus trip back seemed shorter. Bluff City had never looked so bright. Squire’s smile, as he ushered Heard into a cab home, had never looked so warm.

 

It was the easiest Heard had ever fallen asleep, on the memory of that smile.

  


They went back a handful of times while Squire was operating as his mentor, sometimes for mission, but often not. Squire made a point to show him around the city in the daylight, making sure he was familiar with as much of it as possible.

 

“You won’t always be here with me,” said Squire, “you’ll need to be your own guide.”

 

Heard nodded. It was true, of course, and only practical, even if the thought of being in Blough City without Squire made Heard’s chest feel tight.

 

Once the sun went down, however, they always headed to the same district. Dimly lit diners and smokey bars, their signs made of the same flickering pink and blue neon.

 

Normally this part of their journey was spent in silence until Squire signalled it was time to leave. This time, he spoke when they were only half a drink in.

 

“This’ll be our last trip together for a while,” said Squire, “I got assigned a new solo mission.”

 

Heard was careful to keep his posture relaxed, his hands unclenched, his breathing normal. “I understand, sir.” He paused, trying to find the right measure of words. “I appreciate you taking so much time to show me around. This has been invaluable to my skillset.”

 

Squire huffed a laugh. “It was no trouble.”

 

Heard took a careful sip of his coffee. “Do you know how long you’ll be away?”

 

“No time frame given,” said Squire, “usually means it’ll be a long one.”

 

“Right,” said Heard quietly. He looked back down at his mug.

 

“Heard,” said Squire after a moment, “how would you feel about making a second stop on our way out of the city?”

 

Heard blinked at him. They always only made two stops - one day, and one night - to say nothing of the low tone Squire’s voice had dropped into. Heard felt his heart rate speed up a notch.

 

He really had to look into that meditation thing.

 

“Sure,” said Heard, “lead the way.”

 

They left their half finished drinks at the bar, and Heard followed Squire through the darkened streets to another bar, the neon san serif font of the sign illuminating the unadorned doorway.

 

Squire knocked twice, paused, then three times, paused, then once. The door opened. A tall woman nodded to Squire, looked Heard up and down, then looked back to Squire.

 

“He’s with me,” said Squire.

 

The woman nodded, standing back to let them in and shutting the door firmly behind them. As she moved back her seat by the door, Heard could see the line of a gun through the fabric of her suit jacket.

 

Inside, the layout was similar to every other place in the district - a counter with barstools, booth seating, music in the background too low for him to discern the singer’s words. What was different in this bar was the configuration of people, closer to Bluff City than anywhere else they’re been.

 

“Stop staring,” murmured Squire, “The fastest way to get stared at yourself is to stare at other people.”

 

Heard hurriedly turned his gaze to the floor, letting Squire guide him by the elbow to the empty seats at the end of the bar by the wall. Squire ordered them both drinks, his voice quiet. Heard look a large gulp of his when they arrived. Water, of course. Squire only ever drank water or coffee in Blough City.

 

Squire leaned in close to him, speaking softly. “Blough City isn’t so different from Bluff, not in terms of what it’s people want. I thought you should see that for yourself.”

 

Heard turned towards him, keeping his own voice low. “Why now?”

 

“You’ll be coming here on your own soon, or with other agents,” said Squire, “maybe even leading them before too long, you’re already on track for that.”

 

Heard felt his cheeks flush, his eyes dropping back down to his drink.

 

“Future missions will require you to know not just this city but the people in it,” said Squire, “What they want, how they go about getting it, these things determine how a person moves through their space.” He paused. “It’s even more important, while you’re here, to understand what _you_ want.”

 

Heard’s head shot up.

 

“And how you intend to go about getting it,” continued Squire, “for myself, I know what I want, and I know how I would get it.”

 

Heard swallowed. “And how would you? Sir.”

 

Squire smiled. “I know they tell you junior agents never to compromise on anything, but there is value in compromise. Of meeting people half way.”

 

His head tilted towards Heard a fraction, and Heard took his advice.

 

Heard felt Squire cup the back of his head, the feeling of Squire’s fingers carding through his hair making him gasp, letting Squire deepen the kiss. Heard welcomed it, his hands coming up to gasp the lapels of Squire’s nondescript jacket.

 

They leant their foreheads against one another as they broke off for air. Heard didn’t let go of Squire’s jacket. Squire’s hand slid down, resting on the back of Heard’s neck, a warm weight that sent a shiver down Heard’s spine.

 

“Squire…” whispered Heard.

 

“Hector,” said Squire, “my name is Hector.”

 

Heard inhaled sharply. “ _Hector_.”

 

He was close enough to see the flutter of Hector’s eyelashes before Hector leaned in again.

 

The time sped by them, the sun almost rising by the time they caught the bus back to Bluff City. It’s the first time Heard has felt disappointed to be home.

 

Hector sees him into a cab, as always, his hand lingering a little longer than normal on Heard’s arm.

 

“I’ll make contact again after my mission is over,” said Hector.

 

Heard nodded, his throat too tight for words.

  


And then Hector was on the radio.

 

And then Hector was dead.

 

And then Hector was on the run.

 

And then it was Heard’s mission to find him.

  


Really, The Concern should have taken personal loyalty into more consideration when assigning this particular mission. Heard was a company man to be sure, but that’s not really anything when put against Hector Hu, smiling that particular smile at him in an alleyway behind The Courtyard.

 

The Concern never stood a chance.

  


And of _course_ he follows Hector into a new world. He joined The Concern to see new worlds, and he'd discovered within their first week together that there was no one he prefered to explore them with than with Hector Hu.

  


It’s strange, after. They get a hotel room. Agent Seals insists on taking one of the beds herself, and since neither he nor Hector are willing to argue with a woman who can so calmly make and operate a flamethrower, they end up sharing a bed.

 

They're both large beds, plenty of room for two people to comfortably share without touching. Heard does not take advantage of that fact, tentatively laying a hand against Hector’s side under the protection of the covers after they lay down. Hector turns toward him, his smile visible in the streetlight coming through the curtains, shifting closer to Heard.

 

Heard shifts closer too, pressing his body against Hector’s, their faces close enough for him to feel Hector’s amused huff of breath before he closes the space between them.

 

They don’t do much - Agent Seals is in the bed next to them and, again, flamethrower - but that doesn’t stop Heard for thrilling at Hector’s touch, their hands tangled together, warm, and familiar, and real.

 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


End file.
